Led by Mr. H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), the delegation held a workshop in Shanghai on 11th, May. This event, organized by World Travel Online and CBN Travel&MICE, was not only to build and strengthen the bond with Chinese tour organizations and companies, but also promote Sharjah as a favorable tourism destination with the introduction of Sharjah’s tourism resources, products, and marketing plans. Deputy Director General of International Tourism Promotion of Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration Chen Ping was invited as a special guest to the event, which also attracted over 100 participants from Chinese tourism industry.

 

Ms. Amber Gao, Marketing Manager of SCTDA in Asia, shared the Sharjah’s easy access, distinguished tour products, hospitality infrastructure, as well as marketing plans in China with participants. Amber said: “Sharjah is an incredible emirate with a variety of tourism resources and certainly one of the most diverse emirates in the region. Sharjah’s culture is firmly rooted in the Islamic traditions of Arabia, and this is the very highlight of its tourism resources, which attributes that visitors will be charmed by during their stay.” 

 

 

Commenting on the future marketing plans in China, Mr. H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa said: “Last week, we appointed China Business Network as our official Representative Office in China. They’ll help us to manage the Chinese marketing, which includes establish a website for Chinese visitors, interact with our visitors or potential visitors through Weibo and Wechat, hold promotion events in China, etc. I firmly believe that this will make Sharjah more popular among Chinese visitors.”

 

 

In 2015-2016, China has become one of the top 5 source markets to Sharjah with an increase of 63%, and this figure is believed to double because the visa-free policy has been available for Chinese tourists since last November.